Nobody likes to be deceived.  Even the phrase “bait and switch” has negative connotations.  Why am I bringing this up?  We’re in the midst of the holiday shopping season and the video game and console commercials are hitting full force.  As you might have guessed, some of them are pissing me off.  Why is it that marketing folks would much rather show you what they think you’ll buy instead of what you’re actually buying?  It seems to simple really…  show me what you’re selling and I’ll decide to buy it or not.  Sadly, videogame commercials as of late seem a bit more interested in wowing you than being representative of the products they’re selling.

The first offender I wish to address is a commercial for one of my favorite games in a long time, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction.  The game has very vibrant colors, fluid animation, even Pixar-esque graphics from recent years.  Yet instead of showing this footage, Sony opted to show what amounts to 30 seconds of footage that’s not in the game AT ALL.  That would basically be worse than just showing the cut-scenes (which are prerendered video in the game, not real-time in the game engine).  Yes, I’ll admit that the general spirit of the game is roughly captured in the commercial, but why in the hell would you take a game that looks good on its own and replace its in-game graphics with footage that looks better than the game?  You’d think Sony would know better after E3 2005 and the Killzone 2 debacle.

Then we have Microsoft’s “Jump In” commercials.  They’re creative.  I’ll give them that.  There are a lot of people in them doing unusual things like hot air ballooning, para-sailing, etc.  They seem to have some crack squad that sets up impromptu gaming environments anywhere (which includes random parking lots).  The people are smiling and excited.  They even show box art in the commercial.  Hell, one of them even shows the Halo 3 logo on the TV.  Don’t get excited.  Nobody is actually playing any games.  Microsoft is trying to sell a feeling.  Which is so ironic to me because the only thing that keeps me using their system is the games…  and ironically the battle I fight everyday over tossing the thing in the garbage is due to the feelings I have over their system, their service, and their reliability.  I’m not sure if they’re trying to brainwash people into thinking owning a 360 is going to make them happy, but the best thing I think they could do is plaster in-game footage all over the place showing me the games I can play on their system.

Lastly, we have Nintendo and their all-too-pedophile looking Asian men dressed in suits that knock on the door and tell the houses occupants “Wii would like to play.”  I’d love to see that scene take place in a less “dreamland” setting.  Those two guys would be much more likely to get their asses kicked than to start bowling with overly exaggerated movements and expressions.  It’s not that I think Nintendo’s commercials are misrepresenting their products, it’s that I think they’re misrepresenting the amount of fun you’ll experience by playing them.

I’m completely lost on Nintendo’s marketing to be honest.  I think it’s one part “iPod” marketing (everybody feels like they need to own one to be cool), one part “we’re targeting YOU, the non-gamer… you must buy”, and one part “shortage” (hey, if I still can’t easily find one these things must be awesome!) that keeps these things selling.  I can’t fault them, because sales would indicate it’s clearly working, but here we are a year after launch and they’re still showing commercials with Wii Sports in them.  It just doesn’t seem right to me.  Super Mario Galaxy is probably the 1st game that’s genuinely made me anxious to play something on my Wii.  I shouldn’t see any other Wii commercials for the next 6 weeks.  It should be all Mario all the time.  But then again I’m trying to apply my logic and strategy to Nintendo’s plans.  If I look at what’s been working for them, I might as well suggest they market a game where you clean dishes and do laundry. Cleaning Mama.  I’m sure it’d sell millions.

There’s been a buzz lately over Sony’s new ad campaign (in the US at least) and Microsoft’s new campaign, but I’m not interested in discussing the “good” ads now, what current videogame related ads bug the crap out of you, and why?

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